


A Knight's Duty

by BroomballKraken



Category: Rune Factory (Video Games), Rune Factory 4
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:47:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23413297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BroomballKraken/pseuds/BroomballKraken
Summary: As Forte is completing her morning rounds, she runs into Arthur, who is heading out of town to collect some medicinal herbs for a client. She offers to join him as protection, due to the recent increase in monster activity in the area and he accepts. Thus, the knight and prince spend a surprisingly exciting day together, and Forte is left with some...confusing feelings to work out.
Relationships: Arthur/Forte (Rune Factory)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	A Knight's Duty

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who's a sucker for a royalty/knight ship (especially if the knight is a woman)? It's me I'm the sucker lmao Anyway, thanks for reading!

“Right. Everything seems to be normal here…”

Forte stopped in the center of the Selphia Town Square, hand resting on the handle of her sword as her head slowly turned to scan the area for anything out of the ordinary. It was a brisk spring morning, but already warming up as the sun rose over the horizon, basking Selphia in a soft golden light. Summer was quickly approaching, and Forte was looking forward to spending some fun days at the lake with her friends. For now, she would focus on the ever-important task of keeping the townsfolk safe.

“Ah, good morning, Forte.”

Turning around, Forte saw Arthur approaching her with a glowing smile on his face. It seemed to be infectious, because she found that her lips were turning upward automatically before she could even think about it. The prince was a sweet, kind man, who had an incredibly bad habit of overworking himself to try and finish his seemingly endless piles of work. He must have something important to get done today if he was up so early, and Forte was curious about it.

“Hi Arthur. What has you up and about so early?” she asked, the smile falling from her face when she noticed the dark bags under his eyes. Had he stayed up late working again? Margaret often complained to Forte about Arthur’s tendency to work well into the late hours of the night, and even into the early hours of the morning. Margaret also mentioned that Porcoline and even Dylas were starting to worry about him. Forte wasn’t surprised; the three that Porcoline had basically ‘adopted’ were all very close friends and cared about each other quite deeply.

“Oh, I’m just going to collect some medicinal herbs from the Selphia Plains,” Arthur said, trying and failing to stifle a yawn, which caused Forte to narrow her eyes at him, “I have a client who is researching new medicine and has a need for them.”

“Are you going out by yourself?”

“Why yes. I was planning on it, anyway.”

“Hmm,” Forte hummed, frowning as she crossed her arms over her chest, “I don’t think that’s a good idea. There have been reports of orcs attacking travelers out on the plains lately. It’s dangerous.”

“Oh, really?” Arthur said with a disappointed edge to his voice, “But I need to send these herbs out by the end of the day, or they won’t get to my client in time.” Forte’s smile returned as she uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on her hips.

“Well, I’ll just have to join you, then.” Forte giggled at the silly, shocked expression that crossed Arthur’s face, and he shook his head.

“Oh, no! I couldn’t possibly bother you with watching over me. I don’t think my task will be a particularly exciting one…” Arthur said, and Forte laughed.

“It’s fine. I am a knight after all, and you’re a prince. I can’t just sit by and let you possibly walk off into danger.”

“But-”

“And,” Forte cut Arthur off as she placed a hand on his arm, “you’re also my friend, Arthur, and I want to help you out.” Arthur blinked slowly as he stared at her hand, before he smiled and let out a chuckle.

“I guess that makes sense. If you are certain, then I would be glad you take you along, Forte.”

“Good.”

With that, the pair headed out onto the winding path through the Selphia Plains. Forte stayed alert for any danger, keeping a hand hovering near the handle of her sword so that she could pull it out quickly if she needed to. Arthur filled the silence of the morning by speaking of some local legends, including one about a cave that they passed that was now blocked off because of a cave in.

“It was said that couples who touched the back wall of the cave while holding hands the entire time would be guaranteed to be together forever.” Arthur said, a wistful tone to his voice as he turned to smile at Forte.

“How romantic...” Forte mumbled, her eyes going wide and mouth snapping shut when she realized that she had said that out loud and not just in her head. Arthur raised an eyebrow at her, curiosity glimmering in his bespectacled eyes.

“Er, uh, I mean…” she blurted out, blushing madly when Arthur laughed.

“I did not take you for the romantic type, Forte,” Arthur mused. Forte’s face scrunched up at that, and she turned her head away from him to hopefully hide the deepening of the blush on her face. Ugh, how embarrassing. Knights like her shouldn’t be thinking about romance of all things while on the job.

“It’s just, ah, you were telling that story, and it was interesting, and um, well-”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Arthur said, and when Forte turned to look back at him he was smiling sheepishly as he scratched at his chin, “I did not mean to fluster you like that. I have to admit, this side of you is quite endearing. You’re usually so serious all the time.”

“Well,” Forte huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, “I am a knight, and it’s all part of a knight’s duty to not be distracted by frivolous things. Especially while on duty.”

“I guess you have a point there. But,” Arthur smiled sweetly at Forte, whose heart skipped a beat for some unknown reason, “it is just you and me right now. You do not have to have your guard so far up amongst a friend.”

“...You may have a point,” Forte muttered, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as they ventured onward. For as long as she had been a knight, Forte had given an outward appearance of a stoic, no-nonsense protector of the people of Selphia. She kept her love of sweets and cute things under wraps, as well as her embarrassing fear of ghosts. Who could ever look up to someone like that as a protector? She shook her head, trying to push those self-conscious thoughts away, when Arthur suddenly stopped walking.

“Ah ha! It looks like this is a perfect spot,” He turned to look at Forte as he waved his arm in front of him, and she came to a stop beside him as she surveyed the area. They were in a small clearing surrounded by trees, with many green clumps of vegetation growing in patches over the ground. She noticed that most of the plants were indeed medicinal herbs, exactly what Arthur was looking for.

“Wow, it didn’t take long at all to find a good batch of them,” Forte said, and Arthur nodded enthusiastically as he pulled out some gloves.

“Indeed. We are quite lucky today, it seems.” Arthur knelt down next to the nearest patch of herbs and started gathering them, stowing them away into a satchel that he had brought with him. Forte couldn’t just sit by and watch him do all the work, so she got to work as well. After a few hours of plant-picking, they had managed to clear out the entire area, just in time for lunch.

“Ah, yes. This will be a perfect amount to send to my client,” Arthur said, closing his now bulging satchel and taking off his gloves, “Are you hungry, Forte? I did bring lunch with me.”

“Oh, it’s okay. I don’t want to impose. I’m not that hungry anyway,” Forte said quickly, shaking her head. He had not planned for company, so she assumed that Arthur had only packed enough food for himself. She would feel bad about helping herself to his meal.

Forte’s stomach, however, chose this moment to betray her, as a loud rumbling noise filled the air. A mortified look crossed her face as she hid her face in her hands, feeling her cheeks burning with embarrassment. Arthur’s laughter hit her ears, and Forte peaked between her fingers to find him pulling two sandwiches out of another satchel. She slowly lowered her hands and blinked at him, confused. Why did he have more than one sandwich?

“I think your stomach is saying otherwise,” Arthur said, another chuckle escaping him when Forte pouted, “And do not worry. I brought two meals with me, just in case my herb gathering lasted all day.” He held a sandwich out to her, and she hesitated for a moment, before a small smile crossed her face and she took it.

“Thanks,” Forte said, as they both sat down in the shade of a tree. She unwrapped her sandwich and took a bite, her smile growing as the delicious taste filled her mouth. “This is really good!”

“Thank you,” Arthur said, biting into his own sandwich. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment and nodded, “Ah, it does taste delightful. I think my cooking is improving.”

“Have you been practicing?”

“Oh yes. Porcoline has been teaching both Dylas and myself. He’s an eccentric man, but a master of his craft.” Forte giggled at that. Eccentric was a bit of an understatement to describe Porcoline. But, he was a good man, giving Dylas and Arthur places to stay and taking Margaret under his wing as well. They fell into a comfortable silence as they ate, and Forte moved to stand when she finished her sandwich, but Arthur motioned for her to stop as he pulled something else from his lunch bag.

“Wait a moment, Forte,” he said, smiling as he held a smaller bag in his hands, “I also brought dessert, if you’d like.” Forte averted her gaze and shook her head as she had an internal battle with her hidden love of sweets.

“No, I, ah, don’t like sweets-” she started, but words suddenly failed her when Arthur pulled a small chocolate cake from the bag, and she almost started drooling when the sweet smell hit her nose.

“Oh, well, that truly is a shame,” Arthur said, raising an eyebrow at Forte before sighing, “I really wanted someone to help taste test this cake. It was my first attempt at it, after all.” Forte bit the inside of her lip as she stared at the cake. Yes, she could just play it off as helping Arthur do a taste test. No need for him to know that she actually really, _really_ liked sweets. She could still keep up her knightly image.

“Well, if you need someone to taste-test for you, then I suppose that I could help you out.” Forte said, trying to keep a smile from crossing her face as Arthur cut her a slice of the cake before cutting one for himself.

“Ah, good! I really appreciate you trying it, although I feel bad feeding you something that you don’t like…” Arthur said, a slight frown crossing his face as a guilty look appeared in his eyes.

“Oh, it’s fine,” Forte waved his concerns off as she turned her complete attention to the slice of cake in front of her. She felt Arthur’s gaze upon her, so she tried to keep a neutral expression as she dug her fork into the cake, lifted it to her face, and took a bite. All thoughts of keeping up appearances were immediately discarded when the amazingly-sweet taste filled her mouth, and Forte let out a delighted hum, closing her eyes as a bright smile crossed her face.

“Oh! This is amazing!” she blurted out, her eyes shooting back open as she shoveled a few more forkfuls into her mouth.

“Hm? I thought you didn’t like sweets, Forte?” Forte almost choked on her cake when she remembered that Arthur was watching her. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, finding that he was indeed looking right at her, with an eyebrow raised and a small smirk on his face. She swallowed thickly and straightened up, sweat beading on her forehead as she tried to come up with an excuse.

“Er, uh, well yes, but...It must be because...y-you’re so good at baking! Yeah, that’s it!” Forte blurted out, laughing sheepishly as she pushed the rest of the cake back at Arthur. “I, er, this is all that I can handle, though! B-But it was...tolerable, even to a sweet hater like me!” A few moments of agonizing silence ticked by, before Arthur started chuckling, which soon erupted into a full-blown laughing fit.

“W-What’s so funny?” Forte asked, her cheeks burning as she covered her face with her hands. Ugh, how embarrassing. It seemed that she had let her guard down a little too much this time…

The laughter died down, and Forte suddenly felt a warmth on her hands. They were slowly pulled from her face, and she saw that Arthur was kneeling in front of her, his hands gently holding her own.

“Apologies, Forte,” he said, a last, lingering chuckle escaping him, “How incredibly rude of me to laugh at you like that. And after I fed you something that you don’t like. I will pack it away, just in case I get hungry on the way back to town.” Arthur winked at her as he released her hands to start packing up their lunch. Forte blinked slowly as she stared down at her hands, the warmth of his own still lingering on her skin. Her chest tightened at the thought, and she quickly shook her head and focused on helping Arthur pack up.

“Alright, we should be heading back now-Oh?” Forte turned around when Arthur interrupted himself, and she watched as he rushed across the clearing.

“What is it?” Forte asked, following him slowly as a hand instinctively went to rest on the handle of her sword.

“I think we missed collecting some herbs,” Arthur said as he fumbled with putting his gloves back on, “Oh, and these look like excellent specimens as well-”

Suddenly, something large burst out of the bushes in front of him, and Arthur let out a startled yelp as a wooly slammed into him, sending him stumbling backwards a bit before he fell to the ground. Forte immediately charged at the monster, drawing her sword as she stepped in front of Arthur. The wooly made the smart decision to turn tail and escape back into the forest from whence it came.

“Arthur, are you alright?” Forte said, sheathing her sword as she rushed to Arthur’s side, kneeling down beside him. He groaned as he pushed himself up, and he let out a sheepish chuckle.

“Ah, I think so. I was just surprised, is all,” he said, and Forte sighed in relief as she stood up and offered her hand to Arthur. He took it and she helped him to his feet, but he suddenly winced and fell against her.

“Arthur?” Forte frowned as she grabbed his shoulders to support him, her eyebrows furrowing with concern as he grit his teeth, looking as if he was in pain.

“Ah, maybe I am not as alright as I thought…” he said, looking down at his right foot, “I think I may have twisted my ankle.” Forte’s frown deepened as she looked up at the sky. It was only after noon, so she might have had time to go and get help for him. However, she did not want to leave Arthur alone, especially since he was injured and could be ambushed by orcs at any time. She knew what she had to do.

“I’m sorry, Forte. Maybe we can wait and see-” Arthur started, but he cut himself off with a yelp when Forte slipped one arm under his legs, while the other supported his back as she lifted him into her arms.

“Nope. We need to leave now, before those orcs I heard about show up,” she said, smiling at Arthur as he stared at her, a light blush forming on his face.

“B-But, Forte, I cannot ask you to carry me all the way back to town!” Arthur protested, his arms hovering awkwardly in the air, as if he didn’t know where to put them, before he settled for folding his hands in his lap.

“Oh, I definitely can,” Forte said, a smug smile crossing her face, “Or are you calling me weak?” She giggled when Arthur’s jaw dropped and he quickly shook his head.

“Not at all! I just...feel terrible for inconveniencing you. It was my fault that I got hurt, after all. I was not paying attention.” Arthur mumbled, averting his gaze. Forte rolled her eyes and adjusted her hold on him.

“Well, I’m the one who’s supposed to be protecting you, so it’s also my fault for not doing my duty correctly.” she said, as she started walking across the clearing to get back to the road, “Just relax and quit complaining about it.”

“...Alright, if you insist. Thank you,” Arthur said, and Forte could feel the tension leave his body as he finally relaxed in her arms.

“You can cook for me again if you really feel that badly about it, and we’ll call it even,” Forte said with a smirk.

“Oh, I believe I can do that. I shall be sure to omit the sweets that you _loathe_ so much next time.” A conflicted frown crossed Forte’s face as Arthur laughed, and they continued to make their way back to Selphia.

Their journey continued without much excitement...That is, until Forte heard a loud rustling coming from the foliage along the side of the road. She bristled and stopped walking, and Arthur shot her a quizzical look; it seemed that he did not hear what she did.

“Is something wrong?” Arthur asked, a worried frown crossing his face. She didn’t have to answer him, for a second later an orc burst forth from the forest, snarling as it charged straight for them. It swung its mace wildly in front of it, and Forte had just enough time to quickly sidestep its first attack.

“Hold on, Arthur!” Forte said, ignoring his surprised yelp as she quickly threw him over her left shoulder, keeping a tight grip on his legs with her left arm as she drew her sword with her right. When he recovered from his shock, Arthur wrapped his arms around her with a tight grip, and Forte took a defensive stance as the orc turned and charged at her again with a feral screech. Well, Forte certainly had never fought in this position before, but she grit her teeth and readied her sword; she would not let any harm come to Arthur, not while she still drew breath.

With a yell, Forte blocked the orc’s mace with her sword, the sound of steel hitting steel piercing the air. The orc stumbled a bit, and Forte used this opportunity to deliver a swift kick to its chest, sending it tumbling to the ground, with it’s mace landing a few feet away. She then stalked toward the unarmed orc, and it must have realized the predicament that it was in, because it immediately jumped to its feet and retreated back into the forest.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Forte sheathed her sword and gently pulled Arthur from her back and into her arms again. She gave him a once-over, and he looked to be fine, except for the absolutely flabbergasted look on his face. Forte narrowed her eyes, confused.

“Are you alright, Arthur? I didn’t hurt you when I moved you to my back, did I?” Forte said, the very thought of hurting him causing her heart to clench almost painfully. He stared at her for a few moments, as if he was in a daze, before his face flushed a bright red and he quickly shook his head.

“Oh, uh, n-no. I’m alright,” he said, bringing a hand to his face as he cleared his throat, “I appear to have, ah, lost my glasses, though.”

“Oh!” Forte said, planting her feet firmly as she scanned the ground, not wanting to accidentally step on his glasses. She looked over her shoulder and spotted his glasses on the ground, and she carefully turned around, squatting down enough so that Arthur could reach down and grab them.

“Ah, that’s better,” Arthur said when his glasses were back where they belonged, “Now I can properly look upon the face of my savior.” Forte felt her face heat up as she looked away, suddenly feeling shy.

“I was just doing my job. I wasn’t just going to let that orc attack us without doing anything…” she mumbled, and Arthur chuckled, reaching up to brush back some of her hair that had fallen from her hair clip and into her face. His fingers left trails of heat where they brushed against her skin, and she couldn’t stop herself from sputtering with embarrassment.

“W-wha...?”

“Thank you, Forte.”

“Uh...y-your welcome.”

Forte pursed her lips together as she started briskly walking again, and Arthur chuckled before falling silent. Forte’s heart was racing, and her face felt hot. Was she getting sick or something? Or maybe she overexerted herself in that fight? Fighting with someone else’s weight on her back was something that she wasn’t used to...but she had a feeling deep in her gut that it had more to do with the certain someone she was currently carrying in her arms...

By the time they made it back to Selphia, Forte still did not have an answer to her question. She had more pressing matters to attend to, though, and she quickly made her way to the clinic, where Jones and Nancy easily fixed up Arthur’s ankle, much to Forte’s relief. By the time they left the clinic, it was just after sunset, and Forte insisted on walking Arthur home, just to be sure that his newly healed ankle didn’t give out on the way. He protested slightly, saying that he did not want to be more of a burden on her than he already was. She was stubborn about it, however, and he eventually relented, and soon they found themselves outside of Arthur’s door.

“Well, it certainly has been an exciting day,” Arthur said with a smile.

“Oh yes,” Forte said, smiling in return, “Have a good night, Arthur.” She turned to leave, but he placed a gentle hand on her arm. She turned back to him, a curious eyebrow raised.

“Thank you, my courageous knight,” Arthur said, taking one of Forte’s hands in his and lifting it to his face, “for all of your help today, and for protecting me valiantly in the face of danger.” Forte’s jaw hung open in shock as he gently pressed his lips to the back of her hand, and her face suddenly felt like it had been set on fire.

“A-Arthur?” she managed to barely squeak out, and he chuckled as he released her hand, turning around to open the door. Arthur paused in the threshold and turned his head back to look at Forte, an amused grin on his face.

“If I may be so bold, you do look ever-so-cute with your cheeks flushed pink like that, Forte. Goodnight.” Arthur shot her a wink before disappearing inside and closing the door behind him. A mortified look crossed Forte’s face as she reached up to rub at her cheeks, as if that would make the pink blush go away.

“ _C-Cute?_ ” she mumbled to herself. Arthur thought she was...cute? He did have a notorious weakness for cute things, but she really wasn’t all that cute, was she? Forte couldn’t really believe it, as plain and uninteresting as she was.

The evening chill was starting to get to her, so Forte finally forced her feet to move, and she made her way home. Despite the cold air around her, Forte’s cheeks burned and some kind of spark had ignited inside of her chest...and she did not know exactly why. Hmm, maybe she could ask Margaret about it later...


End file.
